The image-forming system of liquid crystal displays or the like requires polarizing elements to be placed on both sides of a liquid crystal cell, and generally polarizing films are bonded thereto. When the polarizing films are bonded to a liquid crystal cell, pressure-sensitive adhesives are generally used. Bonding between a polarizing film and a liquid crystal cell or between polarizing films is generally performed with a pressure-sensitive adhesive in order to reduce optical loss. In such a case, a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer-attached polarizing film including a polarizing film and a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer previously formed on one side of the polarizing film is generally used, because it has some advantages such as no need for a drying process to fix the polarizing film. In general, a release film is attached to the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer of the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer-attached polarizing film.
During the manufacture of a liquid crystal display, the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer-attached polarizing film is bonded to a liquid crystal cell. In this process, static electricity is generated when the release film is peeled off from the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer of the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer-attached polarizing film. The static electricity generated in this manner may affect the orientation of the liquid crystal in the liquid crystal display to cause a failure. The static electricity may also cause display unevenness when the liquid crystal display operates. For example, the static generation can be suppressed when an antistatic layer is formed on the outer surface of the polarizing film, but its effect is not high, and there is a problem in which static generation cannot be fundamentally prevented. To suppress static generation in a fundamental position, therefore, the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer is required to have an antistatic function. Concerning means for providing an antistatic function to a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer, for example, it is proposed that an ionic compound should be added to a pressure-sensitive adhesive used to form a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer (Patent Documents 1 and 2). Pressure-sensitive adhesive layer-attached polarizing films are also required to be durable in the adhering state.